Our Board
Tony McLellanTony McLellan, Chairman of the Board of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Jim Wallace AMJim Wallace AM, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Pastor Ric BensonRic Benson is the Senior Pastor of Kenmore Baptist Church.
Graham PackerGraham Packer is the co-owner of Packer Leather, Brisbane.
Tim KirkTim Kirk is the CEO and Chief Winemaker of Clonakilla Wines.
Terry WintersTerry Winters has served as Chairman and director of several companies and charities.
Mark AllabyMark Allaby is a Principal at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Lyle SheltonLyle Shelton is the Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Tony McLellan
Chairman
Tony McLellan, Chairman of the Board of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Mr McLellan and his family lived abroad for more than 25 years where he served as the President and CEO of a number of major international corporations. Since returning to Australia, he has been appointed chairman of several public-company boards, principally in the resources area.
With a passion for the poor, Mr McLellan served as a director of Opportunity International Australia for many years, and as chairman of Habitat for Humanity Australia. He has also served as chairman of a number of other Christian NGOs. An accomplished public speaker, Tony has addressed audiences in several countries, and has also appeared frequently on American television as a commentator on family issues.
Mr McLellan and his wife, Rae, recently celebrated 50 years of marriage, and attend St Jude’s Anglican Church in Bowral.
Jim Wallace AM
Deputy Chairman
Jim Wallace AM, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Mr Wallace left the Army as a Brigadier in late 2000 after a 32-year career which included command of the SAS Regiment, Special Forces, and the Army’s mechanised Brigade of 3,000 personnel and most of the Army’s fighting vehicles. He is a graduate of Duntroon in Canberra, the British Army Staff College and the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies.
Mr Wallace served as a UN Observer in the Golan Heights and Lebanon with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation.
In 1984 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to counter-terrorism. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Defence Studies Centre and has served on the Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the National Consultative Committee for International Security Issues.
He was the Managing Director of ACL for 13 years until May 2013 when he was appointed Deputy Chairman.
Mr Wallace and his family worship at Hughes Baptist Church in Canberra.
Pastor Ric Benson
Board Member
Ric Benson was formally Senior Pastor of Kenmore Baptist Church, a large, contemporary regional church, very much engaged with other churches in a Brisbane city-wide expression of faith. He is now Pastor of Evangelism and Community Outreach at that church, a Chaplain at the Ipswich Campus of University of Queensland, a personal, family and marriage counselor, and a coach and leadership consultant to churches.
Pastor Benson has wide experience in ministry including lecturing at Bible colleges, as a conference speaker, trainer-educator, Christian counsellor and Director of Church Dynamics. He has ministered to hundreds of different churches and most denominations over the last 30 years.
Pastor Benson has a great passion to see the local church become the redemptive and prophetic community that God intended it to be, with a priority on reaching the lost and turning spiritual seekers into fully committed followers of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Benson’s interest in politics began through his father, who was involved in Credit Unions, Cooperatives for a number of years in Latrobe Valley Victoria where unionism and political conflict were part of the way of life of coal miners and associated industries. He later became involved as a teacher in the state education system in Victoria, challenging the government of the day concerning education funding, policies and procedures.
With a background of social justice stemming from his family, later as a member of the Salvation Army involved in prisons and institutions, and more recently as a professional Christian counsellor and pastor involved with the needs of society, Pastor Benson has a deep interest and passion in politics, the political scene, and in influencing politicians to better our society.
Tim Kirk
Board Member
Tim Kirk is the CEO and Chief Winemaker of Clonakilla Wines. He is a respected wine judge, having judged at over 40 regional and capital city wine shows over the last ten years.
Mr Kirk has a Bachelor of Theology degree and completed a Diploma in Education at the Catholic University, Christ Campus, Melbourne in 1991. He taught Religious Education and New Testament studies at Xavier College, a Jesuit School in Kew, Melbourne, for a number of years.
In late 1996, Mr Kirk moved back to the family winery, with the mission of making Clonakilla one of Australia’s top wine brands.
Mr Kirk currently serves on the council of St Mark’s National Theological Centre, Canberra, and on the Advisory Board of the Canberra chapter of the Australian Catholic University. A long standing member of a Catholic lay community, he has a particular interest in the principle that strong families are the cornerstone of a healthy society.
Mr Kirk’s support for ACL stems from a conviction that it is essential that Christians engage with the political process if the values of the gospel are to have a lasting impact on society.
Tim and his family are members of St. Augustine’s Catholic parish in Yass.
Graham Packer
Board Member
Graham Packer is the co-owner of Packer Leather, Brisbane, a leading Australian producer of tanned hides and skins.
Active in community affairs, Mr Packer serves on the Committee of Management of Citipointe Christian Outreach Centre, Carindale, as well as being Board Chair of Citipointe Christian College, Carindale. In addition, he is Council Chairman of the Christian Heritage College, a private higher education provider. He is also a Community Representative of Clayfield College, which is part of the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association which was established in 1918.
Mr Packer has been a member of the Methodist/Uniting Church for over 25 years, and was a Director of Youth for Christ for over 25 years.
Together with his wife, Addie, they attend and have been members of Citipointe Christian Outreach Centre at Carindale, Brisbane since 1977.
Terry Winters
Board Member
Mr Winters brings a great depth of experience in the operations and governance of not-for-profit organisations. He has spent over 17 years on various boards within the Opportunity International Network, and recently retired as global Chairman of Opportunity International Network, with operations in over 30 developing countries. He was also Chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Victoria and MS Limited for 10 years.
Currently, Mr Winters is Chairman of Seeing Machines Limited, Australian Home Care Services, the social enterprise subsidiary of MS Limited. He is also Chairman of Converge International, a not-for-profit organisation motivated by a strong Christian heritage that provides “employee assistance, emergency support and chaplaincy” programs for employees of over 300 Australian corporations and government agencies. These services are designed to deliver improved wellbeing and stability for an organisation’s employees and their families.
Terry Winters has served as Chairman and director of several Australian listed and private companies and charities. He founded Link Telecommunications Pty Ltd, and he led the creation of Optus Communications Pty Ltd, remaining on the Optus board until 1995.
Mr Winters is married to Merylyn. They attend St Hilary’s Anglican Church in Melbourne.
Mark Allaby
Board Member
Mark Allaby is a Principal at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
With over 25 years experience in Europe, North America and Australia, Mr Allaby has worked in an executive capacity across the financial services industry. As both a senior partner in the management consulting field, and as corporate senior executive, he has had extensive experience setting strategy, leading organisations through large scale organisational change, and managing risk.
Mr Allaby’s commitment to ACL is a result of his passion for the freedoms we enjoy in this country, a nation and society grounded in Christian principles, and a belief that active engagement with the nation through the political process is required to ensure those foundations are not lost in order that our grandchildren may enjoy the same freedoms we take for granted.
Mr Allaby and his wife Susan attend St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney.
Lyle Shelton
Board Member
Lyle Shelton is the Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Lyle is a journalist by profession. He worked in rural journalism as a roving reporter for Queensland Country Life before serving as the Melbourne-based Group Commodities Editor for Rural Press Limited, with articles syndicated to the stable’s rural weeklies, including The Land newspaper.
In 1997 he became youth pastor at Toowoomba City Church before being elected to Toowoomba City Council in 2000. He was re-elected to Council in 2004 and unsuccessfully contested the 2006 Queensland state election.
After a short stint as a political adviser, Lyle was appointed in 2007 as National Chief of Staff at the Australian Christian Lobby, based in Canberra. He served this role for six years before being appointed Managing Director in May 2013.
The ACL corporate structure
The ACL is a company limited by guarantee (ACN 075 120 517). It is a political lobby representing individual Christians and is neither denominationally nor politically aligned. For further information click here
